We traveled to Brazil in December to enjoy Christmas with most of our family and decided to spend New Year's Eve 2019/2020 again in the mountains, away from the hustle and bustle of the coastal cities of Rio de Janeiro. This time we chose a more complete hotel, the St. Moritz Farm Hotel, entering on 12/28 and leaving on 01/02, and we LOVED IT!

The hotel, as the name suggests, has a small farm (!!!) and offers the A regimell Inclusive, that is, all meals included in the package. On New Year's Eve 2018/2019, we stayed at a hotel in Teresópolis that did not have a restaurant (Read more about our stay here) and we think it's a hassle to go out with Patrick and Grandpa for lunch and dinner every day, so there's nothing better than this meal plan inside the hotel, right?

The hotel

For those who don't know, the Saint Moritz is a very traditional hotel in Rio de Janeiro, founded in 1944 by a Swiss couple who fell in love with the region. As you can see from the photos of the Booking, their website or down here, it is not a luxurious and modern hotel, but it is still very welcoming with its simplicity and impeccable nature around. The larger chalet, where the reception is, is where the restaurant, bar, games room, TV room, rest room and many rooms are located on the upper floors, accessible by a very large staircase. We stayed in the Economy Standard Suites, no stairs, because the great-grandfather was using the hotel's wheelchair (we managed to reserve one!) and we always had Paddy sleeping in the stroller between one outing and another. To get to the main chalet, pool, playground or farm, we had to walk along dirt roads, which were sometimes flooded because of the rain, so we had some trouble at those times...

Meals included

We found the hotel food delicious, but because it was the hotel's buffet, it wasn't a spectacle, right? There were always soups, salads, a good variety of hot dishes, lots of desserts and drinks were charged separately. Oh, there was a mini buffet with simpler foods for children, with nuggets, pasta, steaks, rice, beans, etc., which Patrick went crazy for!

Recreation

The hotel has an amazing entertainment team, which surprised us with the amount of activities that took place in one day, since they started at 9am and often ended after 8pm, when we were already going to bed. They were responsible for the children, including at mealtimes, and we saw many parents resting while the little ones had fun with their “uncles”. Unfortunately, the baby here was not old enough for this yet, so he spent 100% of the time with us – which is wonderful but very tiring, of course.

New Year's Eve Party

Our biggest surprise during our stay was without a doubt the New Year's Eve Party, which made me think about going back again with more friends and family. I found everything so well done, so family-friendly, so pleasant, that for a moment I felt like a child at my family's New Year's Eve party. We had a great dinner, danced and watched a fireworks display put on by the hotel itself, which could have been more exciting if Patrick hadn't been panicking about the bangs and explosions in the sky. Poor guy...

Oh, as usual, for those who are curious: Our routine consisted of waking up early with Paddy, having a full breakfast, feeding the farm animals with the hotel staff, relaxing by the pool, having lunch, relaxing around the hotel or in the room, getting ready for dinner, having dinner and going to bed. Nothing too exciting, but simply EVERYTHING we needed at the end of the year.

Our trip in photos

Did you like what you read and want to book your stay at St. Moritz? Check out the hotel here!